Aggrieved persons can seek court redress over social media irresponsibility – Pres Ali

…as laws are being amended to strengthen regulation
President Dr Irfaan Ali has said persons aggrieved by irresponsible conduct on social media can seek redress through the courts, while Government continues efforts to amend existing laws to strengthen regulation of the online space.
He made the remarks on Tuesday during a press conference at the Office of the President.

“My advice to every single person is to utilise the courts when wrongful allegations are made against you, when you are being maligned, I would encourage anyone, because the irresponsibility that exists on social media is something that has to be addressed. People have children, the irresponsibility that goes on, on social media and the only way to deal with it is that people have to take action, they have to utilise the legal mechanism so that the facts can be established,” he contended.
The President’s remarks were in response to a series of allegations being made by United States-sanctioned Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed against him and his government.
Only recently, the President’s brother, through his attorneys, dispatched a letter to the Opposition Leader threatening legal action over allegations he made on his social media page Team Mohamed’s.
In fact, a number of entities and individuals have come forward to reject allegations and correct misinformation being spread by the Opposition Leader. These include local contractors as well as the Guyana Water Inc (GWI); Guyana Fire Service (GFS); Guyana Defence Force (GDF) and the Enmore Regional Hospital.
President Ali underscored the importance of citizens protecting themselves against misinformation by relying on credible and trusted sources, noting that “around the world, the only thing that can combat misinformation are fact-based analysis, separating facts, understanding facts, listening to credible sources”.
He also urged Guyanese to use social media responsibly, noting that the Government is considering amendments to existing laws to address its irresponsible use.
“I think in Guyana, there’s a view that there are no rules when it comes to social and you can post whatever you want, that is why I believe it is critically important that people utilise the legal system now to bring sanity to this whole thing,” the President said.
“I call on every Guyanese to use social media in a manner that has some sort of ethical basis, moral basis because as you know, in the UK, there are laws for social media that are far-reaching. And the region is looking at this in totality, but we too are looking at how we can amend our laws to address the very concerns,” he added.
President Ali recently instructed the Attorney General’s Chambers to review penalties for Artificial Intelligence (AI)-generated content. He added that the Government will launch a campaign to help the public identify manipulated content and understand the harm it can cause.
In 2024, Attorney General Anil Nandlall had announced a review of the Cybercrime Act to address the use of the various social media platforms to “attack” private citizens. At the time, he had expressed that, “something has to be done about the use of the social media as a weapon against the citizens of this country…A government cannot stand idly by in the face of such onslaught on its citizens; that Government will be failing in its responsibilities”.
Guyana’s Cybercrime Act was passed in 2018 and addresses various aspects of harassment using electronic media.
Section 19 of the Act states that, among other things, a person commits an offence if…he/she uses a computer system to publish or transmit electronic data that intimidates a person, threatens the other person to use violence to him or a family member or injure their property, publish or send electronic data that is obscene…threaten to or publish information that causes damage to the reputation of another person or subjects another person to public ridicule, contempt, hatred or embarrassment. Further, the fines under this section amount to $5 million and three years’ imprisonment upon conviction and $10 million and imprisonment for 10 years upon conviction.
Justifying the move, the Attorney General had explained that information posted on social media is “completely unregulated” and causes damage to people’s reputation, people’s character, and that of their family.
The Attorney General had also refuted claims that the Government is trying to control freedom of expression, noting that freedom of expression and freedom of the press do not give anyone the right to attack another person’s character or family.
Also in 2024, it was reported that the Guyana Government retained law firms in the United States of America to address matters relating to inciting racism and violence among Guyanese, through the use of social media platforms.
This year, Nandlall disclosed that Guyana had written Meta Platforms, the holding company for Facebook, requesting an institutional arrangement. He explained that this move was part of the Government’s ongoing efforts to develop a social media policy for children.